Take-Two Interactive didn’t hit its financial targets for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012. But Strauss Zelnick, chief executive of the New York video game publisher, said that was because the company delayed several games so it could make sure they were done right. This “unwavering commitment to quality” is the right approach to maximizing shareholder value, Zelnick said.

Beware the ides of May. Max Payne 3 debuts on May 15, a significant time for gamers that Rockstar Games has pretty much owned for the past few years. The game developer, a division of Take-Two Interactive, wants to repeat history by launching one of the year’s blockbuster games at a time when gamers are have traditionally embraced big games. Now that Electronic Arts/BioWare has released Mass Effect 3, gamers are looking for the next big game, and the next big releases will come in mid-May again.

Take-Two Interactive Software reported a big drop in earnings due in large part because of the delay of its major video game, Max Payne 3. The earnings decline was in line with the expectations of analysts, who had been forewarned, but revenues fell short of expectations.

When credible reports about Zynga’s upcoming IPO filing started flying this July, expectations for the social gaming giant’s value were running $15 billion to $20 billion. Now, with Zynga detailing the offering ahead of trading set to start December 15th, the actual offering price could value the company from $5.9 billion to $6.99 billion, or $7.6 billion to $8.9 billion including employee stock options.

Zynga’s tens of millions of regular players and burgeoning revenues have many investors excited about its fast approaching Initial Public Offering, but Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is definitely not one of them.